Transrapid Maglev Train
The Transrapid maglev route, connecting the North Sea Airport with Hamburg, took us more than 200 working hours to build.
Originally, we had planned for the Transrapid to be completed at the same time as Hamburg. However, one failure after the other occured: Either the track wasn't quite clean so that the Maglev got stuck in the turns, or the propulsion system posed problems. Even after the track guideway had been rebuilt and the train re-engineered, we soon had to admit that this system would be requiring repair far too often.
In summer 2014, we decided to tackle this project again and developed a new propulsion system. Also, the train's characteristics in the turns were enhanced. Some of our tests were successful so that we hoped to be able to set up the Transrapid for continuous operation in the beginning of 2015. While we were working on the Maglev anyway, we also added an automatic charging feature for the recharable batteries and extended the Transrapid control system software for acceleration and braking purposes. Since the summer of 2015, the Transrapid finally runs regularly on the layout and one of our longest running technical projects can finally be considered finished.
